Many wood stoves claim that they have a high burning efficiency or are capable of heating large spaces or are able to burn "over night" without refueling or reloading. It is relatively easy to design a wood stove that is capable of efficient operation at a particular burning setting. However, it is very difficult to design a stove that is capable of very efficient burning characteristics over the full range of burning rates from high, medium and slow. Furthermore, it is difficult toprovide a wood stove that is not only efficient over the entire burning range, but that the emissions of smoke and hydrocarbon material including particulate material meet the Environmental Protection Agency requirements. To meet the Environmental Protection Agency requirements and other state agency requirements such as those of the State of Oregon and Colorado, many stove manufacturers have included a catalytic combustors that burn the exhaust to prevent the emission of particulate material. However, one of the problems with catalytic converters is that they deteriorate with time and require service after they have deteriorated to an inefficient state.
One of the objectives of the applicants' invention is to provide a very efficient wood stove that does not require a catalytic converter and is capable of efficiently burning the fuel over the full range of burning rate settings while minimizing the release of pollutants.
A further object of the applicant's invention is to increase the efficiency of burning to obtain maximum heat per pound of fuel wood while having very low emission rates which minimizes creosote build-up within the chimney or exhaust system.
A further object of this invention is to provide a very attractive wood stove that would be acceptable in one's living room as a piece of furniture while still maintaining a very efficient unit that is very efficient over a full range of heat output settings.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment.